Chapter 26 The Death of Girgit Raj
The black water of the night was slowly turning into a stony white. The first off key chirping of birds had begun but the dark chill of the night still hung heavy in the air. On the veranda of Nayan's house three figures lay sprawled out. One on the sofa. One on a chair. And one leaning against the window frame.
Aarav rotated his wrist slowly. The clock hands were pointing to five in the morning. Deep dark circles had sunk beneath his eyes as if someone had filled the skin there with purple ink.
Nayan Aarav said. His voice sounded like glass scraping against sand. You rest. We will meet at ten.
Nayan nodded without opening his eyes. His breathing was heavy but steady. The kind of exhaustion that had seeped all the way down into his bones.
Kiyan climbed down from the window. His feet landed on the floor without a sound like the pads of a cat. The clothes clinging to his back were still damp from the forest moisture.
Both of them walked out of the house without a word. The first rays of morning had started covering the street in a golden haze. The smell of fresh bread and smoke drifted through the air.
Outside the gate Kiyan stopped. His back was turned to Aarav. His shoulders were tight with tension as if they were carrying a weight of stone.
Aarav. Kiyan's voice opened like a raw wound. Forgive me. Because of me you had to suffer all of this.
Aarav stepped forward. He looked at Kiyan from behind. The taut veins running along his spine. The tiny leaves still tangled in his hair.
No Kiyan Aarav said. His voice was like a firm gentle wall. He had cut him off but there was no sharpness in it. I told you already. I am not angry with you. I am not upset with you. I was never upset with you. So how can I forgive you.
He stepped forward again. Now he was standing beside Kiyan. The morning light fell across both their faces.
Come Aarav said. We should go home now.
Kiyan nodded. That was all. No words. He turned one way. Toward the forest. Aarav turned the other way. Toward his home. Their backs drew further apart but there was a tension in their footsteps. An invisible thread like a rubber rope stretching and pulling between them.
The gate of Aarav's house was closed. He pulled the key from his pocket. The metal was cold. It turned inside the lock with a sharp grating sound. The door opened slowly. The silence inside was thick and heavy. Regular deep breathing came from the rooms of Arushi and his father. The white noise of sleep.
Aarav took off his shoes. The cold floor against his bare feet jolted him awake. He walked toward his room holding his breath waiting for the wooden floorboards to groan with every step.
Inside his room he nudged the curtain aside just slightly. The dim morning light filled the room with a ghostly glow. He lay down on the bed but his eyes stayed fixed on the ceiling. The cracks in the ceiling looked like snakes now. Twisting and tangling together before vanishing somewhere.
Who could have such a problem with Kiyan and my friendship.
Images began spinning through his head. The twisted face of Girgit Raj (the Chameleon King a shape shifting dark entity). Karishma's innocent smile. What was hiding beneath it. The people in black coats who always lurked in the shadows.
We had no enmity with Girgit Raj. He was defeated by that person in the black coat. By Kiyan's mother. So why is he doing all this to us. Behind all of this. Could it be Kiyan's mother.
His breath caught. He closed his eyes and pulled up the memory of that day. When Nishi the Chhayagrasini (a witch like entity who drains age and life force) had saved Kiyan. The fear in her eyes. The fear of losing her child. Her concern.
A mother's love for her child can never be a lie. Maybe I am the one overthinking all of this.
But still. A cold needle crawled down his spine.
Whatever it is. Behind all of this. Whether it is Karishma being a Chhayagrasini the suspicion on Kiyan's mother or Girgit Raj's game. It is all connected to one single person. And that person is Kiyan.
He turned on his side. The warmth of his breath was dampening the pillow.
All of this only means one thing. Either someone wants to kill Kiyan or someone wants to use him for their own gain. But who could that be.
His eyelids were growing heavy. Sleep was pulling him into a blurry world. One final thought surfaced in his mind like a burning letter.
I need to solve this puzzle soon.
Deep in the forest the mouth of the Andhkaar Guha (dark cave) was still spewing darkness. Kiyan stepped inside. The air smelled of rotting flowers and old blood.
Kiyan. You are back. The voice broke into pieces as it bounced off the cave walls. Where did you go. I have been waiting for you for so long.
Nishi the Chhayagrasini sat in one corner. Her body looked like a broken doll. The golden glow of her eyes had grown dim like a lamp flickering just before it goes out.
Kiyan went over to her and knelt down. Nothing Ma. I just went outside for a while.
The Chhayagrasini stood up and came closer to him. Her steps were unsteady. She took Kiyan's face in her hands. Her fingers were cold as ice.
You went to that Devanshik (a divinely blessed one who wields divine power) again did you not. There was a dangerous stillness in her voice.
Kiyan lowered his eyes. His palms grew damp with sweat.
You did not listen to me. The Chhayagrasini's voice turned rough. Maybe you do not even consider me your mother anymore.
Kiyan's head snapped up. No Ma. That is not true. I just had some work to do.
What kind of work the Chhayagrasini said letting go of his face. Her voice was dripping venom now. That a Chhayodhbhav (a nightborn entity who drains age) had to go to a Devanshik.
Just then a clay pot slipped from the Chhayagrasini's hand and crashed to the floor. The sound echoed through the cave. The pot shattered into pieces.
Kiyan bent down and started picking up the shards. What happened Ma.
The Chhayagrasini buried her face in her hands. Nothing. Karishma. Her body shook with a sudden jolt. Who is she.
Kiyan froze. He spoke slowly. Ma why are you so panicked. I have nothing to do with her. I just met her at college and now she has disappeared.
He paused and took a deep breath. But the surprising thing is Ma that she is also like us. A Chhayagrasini. And all this time I was meeting her I thought she was just a human. I could never recognize her. It seems like she only recently became a Chhayagrasini.
He looked at the Chhayagrasini. There was a deep question burning in his eyes. Ma. Can a human become a Chhayagrasini.
The Chhayagrasini turned her face away. Her back stiffened. The silence in the cave grew even heavier.
Kiyan she finally said. Her voice was broken. Fine. Listen. Yes. A human can become a Chhayagrasini. But that is all I know about this.
Kiyan moved in front of her. He took her hand gently. Ma. You are hiding something from me are you not.
The Chhayagrasini closed her eyes. A single tear slipped from beneath her closed eyelid and rolled down her cheek. Silver. Gleaming. Fine. I will tell you the truth. Yes. A human can become a Chhayagrasini. But that is all I know about this Kiyan.
Kiyan let go of her hand. Alright Ma. Sit down. I will bring some water.
The Chhayagrasini sat back down and began wiping her sweat. Her hands were trembling.
Kiyan walked out of the cave. The fresh air hit him like a jolt. He threw a fistful of ice cold air against his own face.
Ma knows something. The world's first Chhayagrasini does not know about Chhayagrasinis. That is strange. But maybe Girgit Raj did something to Ma. Or maybe he threatened her. Just once. Let me find out the truth behind all of this. Who is really pulling the strings.
He wandered through the forest glancing absently at the roots of the trees and the thickets. The sound of a distant waterfall reached his ears. Like a constant weeping.
After a while he returned to the cave with water. The Chhayagrasini drank and took a long breath.
Son sit with me.
Alright Ma. Do not worry. That Chhayagrasini will not be able to harm us Kiyan said. You saved us from Girgit Raj before. So where is Girgit Raj now.
The Chhayagrasini shook her head. I do not know Kiyan. I defeated him and he took on his smaller form and fled somewhere. I do not know anything about all of this. She started coughing.
Kiyan patted her back. Rest now. I will be back soon.
The Chhayagrasini grabbed his hand. Alright son. Take care of yourself.
Kiyan nodded and walked out of the cave. There was only one name echoing in his mind now. Aarav. He began heading toward him.
Aarav sat in one corner of Nayan's house near the window. His eyes were fixed on the street outside. Nayan sat beside him flipping through a book but his eyes were not staying on the pages.
Then a figure emerged in the window. Not from outside. From inside. Kiyan stood there as if he had been molded from the darkness itself.
Nayan jumped. Hey. Kiyan. Do not show up like that. I know you are the son of a Chhayagrasini. I know you have powers. But normal people live here too. It is a good thing my mother went to my uncle's house otherwise what would we have told her.
Aarav smiled but the smile faded quickly. He noticed Kiyan's clothes. They were still wet with faint green stains on them like traces of forest mud and moss.
Kiyan nodded. I will be more careful from now on. We should get moving my friends.
All three of them headed toward the same forest where Karishma had last been seen. That part of the forest was dense and silent. The branches of the trees looked like they were about to fall on them from the sky. The air smelled of rotting leaves and wet earth.
They began searching. Aarav's eyes caught on something behind a bush. There something was glowing green. A strange glow like poisonous moss spreading.
Kiyan Aarav called out. His voice trembled through the forest silence.
Kiyan and Nayan came forward. Kiyan signaled them to stay back then stepped forward himself and peered behind the bush.
There on the ground lay a figure.
Girgit Raj.
But it was not the Girgit Raj they knew. Half of its body was human. A man's torso. Arms. But the other half was green with rough skin a long tail and a head twisted at an unnatural angle. As if someone had stitched two different creatures together.
And in its chest a dagger was buried. It was no ordinary dagger. The hilt was carved with intricate patterns. A black sticky fluid was oozing from the blade forming a poisonous stream across the ground. The skin around the dagger was burning. Small puffs of smoke were rising.
Kiyan Aarav and Nayan stared at each other. The smell of death began floating through the air. The leaves of the trees suddenly stopped rustling as if the entire forest was holding its breath and watching this scene.
Kiyan spoke slowly in a whisper that spread through the silence of the forest like a shiver.
Girgit Raj. Who killed him.
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